Tamsin has some stiff competition for the prize – established authors such as Mark Haddon, Philip Hensher, Susan Hill, Penelope Lively and David Lodge are all also on the list – but it’s fantastic to see a former student in such illustrious company. The Edge Hill Prize is awarded annually by Edge Hill University for excellence in a published single author short story collection. The winner of the 2017 prize will receive £10,000, along with a specially commissioned artwork. And there’s also a £1,000 Readers’ Prize, which is awarded by creative writing students at the university. Previous winners of the prize have included Colm Tóibín, Claire Keegan, Chris Beckett, Jeremy Dyson, Graham Mort, Sarah Hall, John Burnside, Kirsty Gunn, and Jessie Greengrass, who won the 2016 prize for An Account of The Decline of the Great Auk According to One Who Saw It.

The final shortlist will be announced on 30 June, and the prize will be awarded at the Edinburgh Book Festival in August.

For a dedicated online course for those writing for young adults or children as part of a group of 15 (in which students are selected on the basis of their submission), with a top children’s author, apply for: